


It's Not Easy

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Love Is For Children [52]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Colorism, Friendship, Gen, Racism, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25452946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: Rhodey points out that Hulk is a man of color.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Phil Coulson & Avengers Team
Series: Love Is For Children [52]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/42722
Comments: 27
Kudos: 161





	It's Not Easy

**Author's Note:**

> This poem was written for the July 21, 2020 bonus fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Doug Edwards. It also fills the "Family Visit" square in my 1-1-20 card for the Less Usual Bingo Patterns fest.

Rhodey had finally managed  
to make it to Avengers Tower,  
but he muttered and grumbled  
around the common room until  
Tony dashed off for "the good stuff."

"I'm sure it will work out," Phil said.  
"Meanwhile, pull up some couch."

Rhodey flopped onto the cushions,  
making the couch creak a little.

"What's bothering?" Bruce said.  
"Maybe we can help with it."

"The Air Force is just kind of  
racist," Rhodey said. "They tend  
to promote white pilots over black, and   
other favoritism. You know how it goes."

"Uh, not really, no," Bruce said,  
clearly confused. He had lost  
his India tan and reverted back to   
the pallor of a happily lab-living nerd.

Rhodey raised his eyebrows.  
"You really don't see it?" he said.

"Whatever it is, I don't see it   
either," Phil said. "Please unpack."

"Maybe it's harder for Bruce to spot  
because he's in between, like Creoles,  
but he's still a man of color," Rhodey mused.   
"Anyway, there's a difference between how   
whites treat each other and everyone else.  
You can't possibly have missed that   
they consider you _property,_ though."

Bruce grimaced. "No, that I got.  
But it doesn't make me a man of color."

"Yeah, but look -- they treat you worse  
than a white man, but better than Hulk,  
who actually is green," said Rhodey.  
"When you talk, people believe you  
over him, but a white person over you."

"That's not ..." Bruce said, but  
trailed off, clearly thinking.

Phil got a sinking sensation  
in his stomach as he recalled  
some of the briefs he'd seen.

Plus the Avengers had let Bruce  
get away with badmouthing Hulk  
for far longer than they should   
have, just because ... Bruce  
looked like them and Hulk didn't.

Phil winced. This was not good.  
He wasn't sure what to do, though.

"It isn't just you and Hulk, either,"  
Rhodey said, kicking the couch.  
"It's everyone with a different color.  
Beast is blue, the Thing is orange,  
and they get a lot of the same shit."

_I don't answer to my slave name_.

He'd read that in a report about  
Mystique: if you interrogated her, you   
had to use the name that she'd chosen,   
or she wouldn't say one word more.

Mystique, who was blue, and  
preferred her own skin to ...  
passing as a white girl.

_Shit shit shit_. Phil rubbed   
a hand over his face.

"Well, yeah, the cops  
don't like Hulk and Thing,  
but that's because they wreck  
the streets," Bruce said.

"You're not exactly fond of  
them either," Phil pointed out.  
"I don't think that's random, Bruce,  
I think you're responding to a pattern."

"They started it," Bruce muttered.

"Exactly!" Rhodey said, stabbing  
the air with a finger. "That's my point.  
People are acting on prejudice,   
based on your skin colors."

Phil desperately needed  
to call the Baxter Building and  
talk to ... Sue, probably, because  
he doubted that Ben would have  
much more grasp of this than Bruce.

Tony bounded out of the elevator  
with an armload of booze. "I'm back!"

"Tony, back me up," Rhodey said,  
waving. "Is Hulk a man of color?"

"Well duh," Tony said. "He's   
_green_. Green is a color."

"Everything is some color,  
Tony, that's not the same thing  
at all," Bruce said, glaring at him.  
"It's not easy keeping things in check  
when people mess with me."

"Also they keep trying to enslave  
the two of you, which didn't we already  
fight a war about this?" Tony said.  
"Oh yeah, we did, and _stupid lost."_

Then he flipped a red-and-gold card  
at Rhodey. "Come on, let's go."

The older man caught it as it   
bounced off his chest. "Go where?"

"To make some donations until we   
feel better," Tony said. "I'm sure  
the NAACP would be thrilled -- or  
we could do scholarships instead.  
Hit Lincoln University, Hampton,  
the whole nine yards. Make  
the bigots cry. Whaddaya say?"

Rhodey gave a ragged laugh.  
"I never could say no to you  
when you get like this."

"Yes!" Tony crowed, then   
towed him toward a back room.

Phil could hear them dialling  
before the door closed.

"Do you think ..." Bruce said,  
looking over at Phil.

"Think what?" Phil said.

"That there's any merit  
to what Rhodey said?"  
Bruce asked, picking  
at a thread on his jeans.

Phil mulled it over. "I think  
he's black, and that means  
he knows more about it than   
you and me put together."

"Guess I can't argue  
with that," Bruce said.

Then an alarm sounded,  
and Steve burst out of   
the common bathroom  
soaking wet and yelling,   
"Avengers assemble!"

Phil checked his shrieking phone.  
Rock monsters were assaulting Harlem.

Bruce cringed. "Please don't make me  
go back to Harlem," he whined.  
"It's not easy dealing with --"

"Sorry, Bruce, but we need  
our heavy hitter," said Steve.   
"You can wait to suit up   
until we actually get there."

Bruce grumbled all the way  
to Harlem, but he suited up.

War Machine joined them too.

With another aerial combatant,  
they had an easier time making  
headway against the rock monsters.

Hawkeye made good use of  
his explosive arrows.

Black Widow focused  
on evacuation, with Hulk  
smashing rock monsters  
that tried to reach civilians.

Iron Man and War Machine  
worked surprisingly well  
as a team, setting up  
opponents for each other.

When the last one went down,  
the Avengers gathered inside  
the perimeter to check on status.

And then Hulk walked out of the dust   
carrying four black children while  
singing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." 

Hulk unloaded his tiny passengers  
in front of Agent Smith. "Bad cop,"  
he said, pointing over his shoulder.   
"Two blocks. Suit protect?"

"We sure will," said Agent Smith.  
"Thank you for rescuing the kids."

The paperwork was going to be  
a nightmare, but Phil didn't regret it.

With a little luck, Harlem might even  
convince Bruce that Hulk was their hero.

**Author's Note:**

> The following two things directly contradict each other:
> 
> "As far as I'm concerned, that man's whole body is property of the U.S. army."  
> ― [Gen. Thaddeus Ross](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Chase_of_Bruce_Banner)
> 
> [The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution](https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=40) provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
> 
> Raven, I asked you a question.   
> I don't answer to my slave name.  
> [X-Men: The Last Stand](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/9af27771-ba71-4f8d-a37e-40b1f0472f68) (2006)
> 
> [Historically black colleges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities) mostly appear in the east and part of the south, [as shown on this map](https://newsone.com/3050613/mapping-all-105-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/).


End file.
